Athletic shoe



Oct. 31, 1939.

- 78,107 H. M. PIERCE ET AL 2 l ATHLETIC SHOE Filed July 1, 1938 2 Sheets-Shee't 1- broadly resides in securing the shank portion of ferred embodiments, since the invention is ca-- 8d of the sole and secured thereto intermediate end of the sole to the front end of the shank 30 Patented Oct. 31, 1939 I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ATHLETIC snon Howard M. Pierce, John H. Hermson and Nils H. Thorkelson, Brooklyn, N. Y.; assignors to A. G. Spalding & Bros, Inc., New York, N. Y.,'a. corporation of Delaware Application July 1, 1938, Serial No. 216,937

3 Claims. o1. 12-142) Thepresent invention relates to improvements turning and showing 'different stages of manin turned shoes and to a new method of makufacture.

ing the same. Fig. 4 is a top view of the completed shoe.

It is the principal object of the present inven- Fig. 5 is a. bottom view of the completed shoe. tion to provide a turned shoe which possesses Fig. 6 is a cross-section along line 6-6 of 5 greater flexibility of its shank portion than shoes Fig. 5. made according to previous'proposals. Fig. 7 is across-section along line 1-1 of- Another important object of the invention is Fig. 5. to provide a shoe with a shank portion of greater Before describing the present improvements my flexibility, having increased strength and resistand mode of operation thereof in detail it should 1D ance to wear. be understood that the invention is not limited The principal feature of the invention resultto the details of construction and arrangement ing from the attainment of these objects is a of parts shown in the accompanying drawings, new method of producing a turned shoe which which are merely illustrative of the present prethe upperto the sole in a manner different from pable of other embodiments, and the phraseology the securement of the forward portion. employed is for the purpose of description and Another important feature of the invention not of limitation. for attaining the above objects consists in re- Referring now to the drawing in detail, the

2d ducing the thickness of the shank portion of present invention provides a flexible main sole the sole as such and building up sections of the H! which extends through outthe length of the reduced portion with a layer or layers of tougher shoe H and consists of a forward portion I2, and more flexible material. a heel portion 13 and a shank portion l4 inter- A further feature of the present invention is mediate the forward and heel portions. The forthe provision of a flexible sole extending the enward port on I2 is P v a e e 15 W h tire length of the shoe, and an upper which is a groove I6 adajacent its outer ed nd a Split stitched to the outer edge of the sole only at portion ll forming a channel l8 and a closin the forward portion thereof and is provided with p s arly shown n the r v shank extensions overlapping the shank portion l6 and split portion I! only extend from the front the outer edges of the sole.' portion H. The heel portion I3 is cut away or Further objects of the present invention are notched at its front end at 20 to' p duce shoulthe provision of a new method of making turned C16! and is provided at the other side 22 r shoes which requires less hand work, and less with a gr and a Channel 24 S ar to $5 time and manufacturing cost than similar meththose of the fflrward'portion d heretoior? proposed; a As already indicated; grooves l6 and 23 an For attaining the latter objectives, the present Qhannels 24 0f the a d and el P01- invention provides a new method of obtaining an 510115, respectlvelyi only extend to the m and improved product by reducing the amount of rear ends of the intermediate shank portion M w so that the latter is free of any channel or 40 hand work and omitting certain manufacturing groove- However' according to the present steps which were necessary according to previvention and as shown in Figs. 2 and 7 shank 013952115 obtaining simllar product and portion I4 is reduced in thickness relative to the substituting for certain complicated and expenfront and heel portidns I2 and '3 immediately 1 Siva steps of such prior proposals others which adjacent the rear end of the split or channeled are Simpler and less expensive, yet producing portion I1 and at the same side l5, which in the superior product. final product constitutes the upper or inner side These and Qther Objects, features and Edwin of the sole. This reduced shank portion M is tages of the present invention will be-app i furthermore graded down or recessed toward the 59 from the following detailed description and the outer edges, as shown particularly in Fig 7, accompanying drawings in which: i a The upper 25 and the lining 26 which are Figure 1 is a plan view of the sole according to cemented and stitched together and provided with the invention, prior'to stitching. reinforcements at the toe and heel parts, are then Fig. 2 is a side view of Fig. 1. molded ininverted position over a last on which Fig. 3 is a bottom view-of the shoe prior to the sole I0 is "applied with side 22' facing the last. Then they are fitted over the outer edges of the sole and tacked to the other side I5 of the sole. Thereafter, the upper and lining are sewed along the edge 21 to the forward portion 5 H of the sole only by stitches 28 passing transversally through the upper-and lining 25 and 26 and the channel It, as shown particularly in Fig. v

After thus stitching together the forward por- 10 tions of the sole ID, the upper 25 and lining 26 from the front end of the shoe along both sides approximately to the forward end of the shank portion M, the end portions of the upper and lining projecting above the seam stitches 28 are trimmed or cut away at both sides of the sole from the forward end aproximately to a line 29 intersecting the ball portions of the sole, as shown particularly in Fig. 3. The remainder of such projecting portions of the upper and lining at 20 .both sides of the shoe extending from line 29 to the forward end of the heel portion l3, thus constitute a pair of double-layer shank extensions '30 and the layers of each pair are of substantially equal length and width as shown in Figs. 3 and 7 25 of the drawings.

After completing the trimming operation, the shoe is removed from the last, and the doublelayer shank extensions 30 machine-stitched to the reduced or recessed shank portion M of the sole by a line of stitches 3| parallel but spaced from each outer edge of the sole l adjacent the inner end of each extension 30 and extending substantially from line 29 to the forward end of the heel portion l3, as shown particularly in Fig. 4. Thus, stitches 3| pass through both layers of each shank extension 30 and secure the same to the main sole l0.

Thereupon, the shoe is turned inside out, and each double-layer shank extension 30 is again 0 machine-stitched to the sole by an outer line of stitches 32 substantially parallel with the inner line of stitches 3| and closely adjacent the respective outer edge of the sole in, but only extending substantially to the rear end of the 45 split or channeled portion I1 and transverse stitches 28.

A tap sole 33 is then applied to the forward portion I2 of the main sole Ill and sewed thereto'by a row of stitches 34, shown in Fig. 6, pass- 50 ing through the grooved-portion l6 adjacent the outer edges of the sole HI. Thence, a welt ll, shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5, is sewed to the heel portion l3 by transverse stitches passing through the channel 24 to flll out the groove 28, and a. heel lift 36 which extends from the 55 rear end of the shoe to a line adjacent but in front of the rear end of the shank portion ll so that it overlies the rear ends'of the shank extensions 30', is sewed along its outer edge to the welt 35 and the rear end Tl of the shank portion M of the sole l0.

Finally, for securing the shank ends of the tap sole 33 and the ,heel lift 38 to the main sole ll, transverse rows of'machine stitches ll. are pro- 65 vlded adjacent the rear edge of tap sole l3, and 'a similar row of stitches 3! adjacent'the breast of the heel lift 38.v As shown in Figs. 4 and 5, these stitches 38 and II also pass transversally through shank extensions 30 near their respective outer ends and thus act as a further securement and reinforcement of the shank extensions. By the newstructure and method according to the present invention, a shoe is obtained which has heretofore unsurpassed flexibility of its shank portion and therefore is especially sdspted for use in various sports. Such flexibility is obtained by reducing or recessing the'shank portion of the main sole I0 and filling out a part of such reduction by the double extensions 30 of the upper and lining. Since the leather of such upper and lining is of considerably finer grain, greater flexibility and toughness than the leather of the main sole ID, the shank portion of a sole which is built-up according tothe invention of va thin layer of sole leather and a double layer of upper leather possesses not only increased flexibility over the usual coarse-grained main sole of uniform. thickness, but also increased strength and resistance to wear. Actual tests have shown that the flexibility of the shank portion of the new shoe is considerably improved over similar type shoes made according to various proposals prior to the invention. It has also been found that such increased flexibility and strength is due to a large part to the particular method of stitching and the particular position of the rows of stitches which secure the shank extensions to the main sole I0.

For example, according to some previous proposals, the upper and lining were sewed by a 2 transverse row of stitches to the edges of the main sole not only at the forward portion thereof but also at the shank portion, and a welt or reinforcing strip had to be added "to protect the transverse stitches and prevent the upper and 39 lining from tearing loose from the shank portion of the sole. Such reinforcing strip obviously reduced the flexibility of the shank portion considerably.

If, on the other hand, the shoe is made according to the method of the present invention by extending the shank portions of both upper and lining inwardly of the shoe and securing each of them to the main sole ID by doublerows of stitches spaced inwardly from the outer edges of the sole and passing vertically through the sole, the strain on the stitching by the flexing of the shoe during use is reduced. Thus, the

upper and lining cannot be torn from the sole. and a reinforcing strip or welt becomes superfluous.

Furthermore, since the vertical stitching of the shank portion of the shoe is performed within the full vision of the workman, the shank extension can be pulled in more tightly than if transverse or hidden stitches were used at this portion and placed in channels such as l8. The shank portion of the shoe therefore fits tightly around the shank of the foot, giving the same improved support without the addition of special strengthening means.

the costof making the shoe according to previous proposals. All of the stitching of the shank portion is carried out by asimple sewing machine, while the shank portions of all similarshoes as heretofore proposed required either manual stitching or complicated machinery. Thus, the a cost of skilled labor is materially reduced and the high initial expense for special machinery is avoided, while at the same time a superior product is obtained.

'-Variations and .modifications may be made 7 within the scope of this invention and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. Av shoe comprising a main sole having a forward portion including a ball portion, a heel portion, and a shank portion of less thickness than said forward and heel portions; said reduced shank portion having reduced margins; said forward portion having a groove adjacent its outer edge and a channel spaced from said groove; an upper and a lining, each having forward, shank and heel portions; stitching within said channel securing the forward portion of the upper and lining to the wall of said groove; a pair of spaced shank extensions of substantially equal width and integral with said upper and lining, at the sides of the shoe and overlapping the reduced margin of the shank portion of the main sole; and spaced longitudinally extending lines of stitching passing vertically through the double-layer shank extension and main sole, at both sides of the shoe.

2. A shoe comprising a main sole having 'a forward portion including a ball portion, a heel portion, and a shank portion of less thickness than said forward and heel portions; said reduced shank portion having reduced margins; said forward portion having a groove adjacent its outer edge and a channel spaced from said groove; an upper and a lining, each having forward, shank and heel portions; stitching within said channel securing the forward portion of the upper and lining to the wall of said groove; a pair of spaced shank extensions of substantially equal width and integral with said upper and lining, at the sides of the shoe and overlapping the reduced margin of the shank portion of the main sole;

spaced longitudinally extending lines of stitching passing throughthe double-layer shank extensions, the main sole and-respectively, the tap sole and heel lift, said longitudinal stitching extending substantially from the transverse line of stitches passing through the heel lift to the ball portion and beyond the transverse line of stitching passing through the tap sole.

3. A method of making a flexible turned shoe comprising the steps of providing a highly flexible sole of uniform thickness at one side vwth a groove extending around the forward portion substantially to a line intersecting the ball portions of the sole and a channel'adjacent the groove; and a shank portion having a reduced portion extending thereacross at the grooved side thereof and a further reduced margin at each side; stitching through the channel and an upper and lining for securing the upper and lining to the wall of the groove; trimming the projecting end portions of the upper and lining around the forward portion of the sole substantially to said intersecting line so as to leave spaced pairs of superimposed shank extensions of said upper and lining of substantially equal width at either side of the shoe; stitching through said sole and shank extensions at each side of the shoe along a line substantially parallel with but spaced inwardly from the respective outer edge of the sole and extending from the rear end of said shank extensions to said intersecting lineso that the shank extensions fill out substantially the reduced margins of the shank portion of the sole; turning the shoe; and stitching through said sole and shank extensions at each side of the shoe along a line substantially parallel with but spaced from the last-mentioned line.

HOWARD M. PIERCEJ JOHN H. HERMSON'. N H. THORKELSON. 

